Heel-cushion.



No. 699,297. vPatented May a, |902. o. Elck.

HEEL CUSHION.

(Application filed Mar. 18, 1901.)

(No Model.)

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OTTO EIOK, OF BALTIMORE, MARYLAND.

HEEL-CUSHION.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 699,297, dated May 6, 1902. Application filed March 18, 1901. Serial No. 51,603. (No model.)

To all wil/0m it may concern.-

Be it known that I, OTTO EICK, a citizen of the United States, residing at Baltimore,State of Maryland, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Heel-Cushions, of which the following is a specification.

This invention is an improvement in heel cushions for boots and shoes; and its object is to provide an improved device of this character which will form a comfortable cushion for a personis heel, avoiding any jar to the body of a person while walking and overcoming to a great extent the tiresome effects of standing for any length of time, and whose construction will tend to keep its parts ventilated.

The invention consists in certain construc tions and arrangements of the parts herein- 'after fully described and claimed, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, in which- Figure l is a vertical longitudinal section of a shoe provided with my improved heelcushion, which latter is also shown in section. Fig. 2 is a bottom plan View of the heelcush ion. Fig. 3 is a side edge view of a slightlymodified form of heel-cushion, forming an entire detachable inner sole.

Vithin the heel portion of the shoe A is inserted my improved heel-cushion, which is provided with a bottom plate a, of leather or other suitable iiexible material shaped to approximately conform to the contour of said heel portion, and also provided with a top plate a, of leather or the like, corresponding in contour to the bottom plate a and perinanently secured to said bottom plate at the forward end only. These bottom and top plates a a' may be separate pieces secured together or may be produced by simply splitting a piece of leather, leaving the split pieces united. Thesplitheel-cushionisprovidedon its under surface with a plurality of rubber or other elastic pads t, by which it is supported on the inside over the heel of the shoe, giving access for air under said bottom plate. The foremost of the pads form shoulders h for a purpose hereinafter described.

A flap o, as best shown in Fig. 2, has its forward edge secured by a strip of easily-rendible material d to the under surface of said bottom plate a, but isotherwise unattached to the latter. The rear edge of said Hap nor mally abuts against the foremost of the pads b, and the bottom surface of said flap is flush with the faces of the pads l) and is coated with a cement c, all for a purpose presently described. Wedged between said top and bot tom plates is an elastic nonemetallic filling comprising an upper layer of cork g and a lower layer of some compressible material h, such as felt. The layer of cork g is preferably secured throughout its length to the under surface of the top plate a', so that the cork will not be liable to break; but the lower layer of felt 7L is secured only at its forward edge between the layer of cork and the bottom plate a. By this construction the top and bottom plates tend to spread apart at their rear edges, as shown in Figs. l and 3, which gives great elasticity to the heel-cushion and also tends to create Ventilating-currents of air around the persons heel when the pressure of the latter is alternately exerted upon and removed from said cushion during the operation of walking. Similar resulting advantages of Ventilating and air currents are also produced by the yielding of tho bottom plate a, supported on the several pads b.

In advance of the ilapc the heel-cushion is provided on its under surface with one or more elastic tubes t', extending transversely of the heel-cushion and provided with open beveled ends j. In this instance two such tubes are shown. These tubes are located underneath the arch of a persons instep and form a yielding support for the same, and when pressure of the foot is alternately exerted upon and removed from said tubes during the operation of Walkin g air-currents will be created in and out of said tubes and ventilate the shoe at that point. The ends of the tubes are preferably beveled, as shown, so that they will not be closed by contact with the sides of the shoe.

In practice the flap c is permanently secured by its cement e to the inside of the heel of the shoe, as shown Fig. l, so that the shoulders b of the foremost pads b abut against the rear edge of said flap and prevent the heel-cushion from slipping forward out of place, and the entire heel-cushion is held in the shoe and is prevented from falling out of the same by Il I -n- I i means of the rendible connection d between the flap c and the bottom plate a; but after the cushion has been once removed from the shoe and then replaced it is merely held from any forward displacement by means of the shoulders b and is not held in the shoe, as it was before the strip of rendible material CZ was torn.

After the heel-cushion is once fastened to the shoe, as just described, it may be easily removed to adjust or replace its elastic filling by tearing the cushion away from its iiap c, and the cushion may afterward be returned to its place in the shoe-heel, any forward displacement being prevented by the shoulders b of the foremost pads b abutting against the rear edge of the iiap c, which is permanently attached to the shoe.

In the modification illustrated in Fig. 8 the top plate a2 is extended forwardly, so as to form a full-length inner sole. In this case the attaching-Hap and shouldered yielding pads are dispensed with, as the full-length inner sole of itself prevents the forward displacement of the heel-cushion.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim as new, and desire to secure by Letters Patent, is-

1. A heel-cushion, provided on its under side with a flap adapted to be attached to the inside of a shoe, and also provided with a shoulder adapted to abut against said iap, whereby to prevent the forward displacement of the cushion; and a rendible connection between said cushion and flap.

2. A heel-cushion, provided on its under side with a flap adapted to be attached to the inner sole of a shoe, and also provided with a shoulder adapted to abut against said ap whereby to prevent the forward displacement of the cushion.

3. A heel-cushion, provided on its under side with a flap adapted to be permanently attached to the inside of a shoe and said-flap having a rendible connection with said cushion; and one or more elastic pads attached to the bottom of the cushion and adapted to abut against the rear edge of said flap whereby to prevent the forward displacement of the cushion.

4. A heelcushion, comprising a bottom plate and a top plate one of which is secured to the other at its forward end only; a layer Aof cork secured to the inner surface of one of said plates at the rear end thereof; and a layer of felt wedged between said plates and secured thereto at its forward edge only whereby the rear ends of said plates tend to spring apart.

5. A heel-cushion, comprising a bottom plate and a top plate one of which is secured to the other at its forward end only; and an elastic filling having its forward end in contact with and wedged between the said bottom and top plates, and having its rear portion free from attachment to said two plates, whereby said filling tends to spread the rear ends of said plates apart.

In testimony whereof I affix my signature in the presence of two witnesses.

OTTO EICK.

Witnesses:

GUsTAvE W. RIDGELY, CHARLES L. Vrnrscri. 

